Doyel on Biggio
In the next few days Craig Biggio will get his 3,000th base hit. He already has scored 1,800 runs. He has more than 1,000 RBI, and he's close to 300 home runs.
Those are Hall of Fame numbers, which has me confused.
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| Sure, Biggio is nearing 3,000 hits, but he also ranks high in strikeouts. (US Presswire) |
Not the way I see the Hall of Fame. To me, the Hall of Fame should recognize dominance. It should recognize greatness. If Biggio gets in, the Hall of Fame won't be recognizing greatness. It will be recognizing very goodness, because there's nothing about Biggio's career that suggests greatness other than his durability and consistency. In those areas, I concede: He has been greatly durable, and he has been greatly consistent.
Wonderful. So has my lawnmower.
Biggio's going into the Hall of Fame, obviously. My stance won't change anything. Even if I had a vote -- shoot me before I belong to something as silly and parochial as the Baseball Writers Association of America for the 10 years needed to become a Hall voter -- I couldn't stop Biggio from getting in, possibly as a first-ballot choice.
Cooperstown will be the poorer for it. How do I know? Try this quick quiz: Who among you will brag to your grandkids that you saw Craig Biggio play? None of you, because Biggio wasn't that kind of player. He was and is -- OK, was -- awfully good. He was awfully good for a long time. But when I visit the Hall of Fame, I want to see someone who at the height of his game was dominant, even if he didn't sustain that dominance for the two decades that Biggio has played. I want to see Jim Rice and Richie Allen. I want to see Jeff Bagwell. And Ichiro.
Don't give me Greg Vaughn or Andy Van Slyke, who have as many top-five MVP finishes (two each) as Biggio.
Don't give me Mark Grudzielanek, whose lifetime batting average (.287) is higher than Biggio's (.282). Don't give me Rich Aurilia, who has had one 200-hit season, just like Biggio.
Those are the kinds of players who compare to Biggio, with one exception: Biggio has played longer. He has outlasted them. Soon he will be rewarded for his longevity with a spot in the Hall of Fame. That's no secret.
But this might be: Did you know that, by the end of this season, Biggio could rank 11th in baseball history for career strikeouts? He's closing in on 1,700, about to pass Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew and Dale Murphy, and by season's end he'll be in the vicinity of Bobby Bonds' No. 11 all-time total of 1,757. Next is Dave Kingman, 10th with 1,816.
You'd think, with all those strikeouts, that Biggio must be one powerful hitter. Not so much. He has never hit more than 26 home runs in a season, although by sheer volume of at-bats he has accumulated 286 homers. If he finishes the season at 288, he'll be tied for 122nd all-time with Del Ennis (1946-59). Del Ennis for Hall of Fame, anyone?
Biggio's .282 batting average puts him No. 554 all-time, tied with Stan Spence (1940-49). Stan Spence for Hall of Fame?
